Most Popular Entries

RMI Guide Peter Whittaker and the Four Day Summit Climb team reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning around 5:20 am. The team is making their descent back to Camp Muir and enjoying a light wind. We look forward to seeing them in Ashford this afternoon. The Expedition Skills Seminar – Emmons led by RMI Guide Pete Van Deventer reached the summit of Mt. Rainier around 7:00 am. Pete reports clear skies on the summit and 15 mph winds. He says it is fairly warm and a really nice day to climb. The team is enjoying some time at Columbia Crest and will begin their descent to Camp Schurman around 8:00 am. Congratulations to today's climbers!

Hello family and friends back home! 

It was a chilly night here at 17,500’. But that was to be expected! Everyone had hot water bottles to keep them warm. We woke to crystal clear skies and a beautiful view. The sun doesn’t get to camp until about 8:30 so we lingered in the tents before meeting for breakfast. Then we lounged in chairs soaking up the warmth of the sunshine enjoying the views up the Khumbu icefall while sipping coffee! Sounds tough, I know! 

Then I took the team for a short hike into the very beginning the icefall, but still more than a mile from any real danger. Where we talked about the route and took some pictures and then made our way back to camp to an awaiting lunch. The afternoon was spent relaxing around camp and hanging out in our well stocked dinning tent! 

Headed down valley tomorrow!

RMI Guide Casey Grom and the Puffy Pants Crew 

Well, the summit buzz is starting here at Everest Base Camp. A few teams had planned on heading up this morning but a pulse of snow in the early morning hours shut most of them down. Everyone has been milling about camp trying to piece together what the other teams are doing. It's all pretty exciting. The main focus for everyone is on the weather forecast. There is a tropical cyclone in the Bay of Bengal and that could mean a lot of snow if it comes our way. Everyone is hoping that it dissipates over the next several days of course. As for us we're not rushing up the mountain just yet. We're still healing up a bit and being in the first big wave if summiteers was never in our plan. Better for us to hang back a few days, wait for a solid forecast and hopefully get the summit without a big crowd. So its at least a few more days of Base Camp life for us. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

Mark Tucker here calling here from Island Peak Base Camp. We had a 3-hour hike up from Chukung to a nice lunch. Beautiful day. Nice and warm until the sun set and now a little bit of clouds and wind. Came out to a little ridge here to get a better signal. I'm in three layers, heavy down and it is chilly. I guess it could be worse. We've had a great day so far. Everybody's doing well. We have a fabulous staff assisting us so overall, as a mountaineer goes, we've got it pretty easy. It is still a tough environment to handle. We are all doing well. We are all looking forward to a late start tomorrow up to our high camp. Beautiful, beautiful day. Peaks surrounding us, just awesome to stare at. Had a nice dinner and it is into the sleeping bag with my favorite water bottle to get me through the night. All's well. RMI Guide Mark Tucker

On The Map

The Four Day Summit Climb August 20 - 23 led by RMI Guides Dave Hahn and Jake Beren reached the top of Mt. Rainier today! They experienced very high winds with a cloud cap on top of the mountain. The teams began their descent from the crater rim a little after 9:00 a.m. PT. RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and the Expedition Skills Seminar - Emmons will continue training today. Due to high winds and heavy rain last night the team will postpone their summit attempt until tomorrow morning. Congratulations to today's Summit Climb team!

Yes, it's official—Brent Okita has reached his 600th summit of Mt. Rainier, setting a world record for the most successful ascents of the iconic 14,410-foot peak! This incredible milestone was achieved during a Four-Day Climb led by Okita and fellow guide Jess Wedel. The team reached the summit early this morning, and they’re expected to return to basecamp this afternoon for a well-deserved celebration.

To put this into perspective, 600 summits equates to approximately 5.4 million feet of elevation gain—and that’s only counting successful climbs. It doesn’t include the countless additional feet from training, attempted climbs, or even biking from Ashford to Paradise. Brent’s dedication, endurance, and passion for mountaineering are truly legendary.

Congratulations also to the RMI Clients that were able to climb and share the rope with Brent and Jess today. It was very important to Brent that he accomplish this record while guiding RMI Clients to the top.

Sunday, January 16, 2022

After a quick breakfast in the Hotel Geneve, we said goodbye to the bustling streets of La Zona Rosa at 07:40 to get some much needed time to acclimatize in preparation for the objectives that lie ahead. We were greeted with sunny skies and mild morning weather on our hike of La Malinche which tops out at 14,640. The trail was in good shape and feral dogs were good company at times. After moving into our Cabana and just missing the evening thunder and rain, we are on our way to enjoy an nice family-style meal of carne asada, complimented with hot sizzling veggies and queso to end a great first day.

RMI Guide Alan Davis

Another unwelcome pulse of moisture and wind came through in the night. The wind was far more significant than the new snow as it worked to slab up the substantial snowfall we'd already gotten on the steep walls above. While things died down and the sun showed up on time this morning, it didn't take very long for folks to realize we'd suffered a setback in the snow stability department. But there wasn't so much that could be done to change that reality and so we made the best of things. We geared up, roped up and took a hike to the edge of the world, which is what everybody calls the rocks a short distance from camp that mark the edge of the 14,200 ft basin we're in. From that edge one can look straight down thousands of vertical feet to the Northeast Fork of the Kahiltna Glacier. Except we could not, due to clouds and murk, and plowing through above the knee powder made it feel like a little more than a short distance away. We went for the workout and to keep our minds focused on climbing during this big delay. And that seemed to work nicely for us. One could sense the great drop-off and the immensity of Denali's South Face lurking in the clouds. Back at camp, we did more of the things we've already been doing so well... eating, drinking, resting, chatting and watching the snowy slopes above when the clouds permit. What we really need is a few hot, very sunny, stable days to settle the snow. Several of the teams surrounding us in camp were running low on food and fuel and could wait no more. They began their descent of the mountain as we were sitting down to dinner. Things actually cleared up quite nicely about then with calm, blue skies above and a thick sea of clouds below us stretching to all horizons. It may be a tricky situation but it remains beautiful. Best Regards, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

The weather forecast was right on this time... A day of snow. It was a little bit like the inside of a milk bottle for most of the time. There were a few hours when the clouds were thinner and the sun's heat could be felt through the storm, but the snowflakes never quit falling. It was not going to be a climbing day for our team and so we turned it into a fine rest day. Solveig Waterfall taught an excellent course in avalanche beacon use. Tim Hardin and Cody Doolan built the mother of all snow kitchens. The team listened patiently to old guide stories and chatted over the current events we could pick up from the Anchorage FM stations. We had a few sessions of cutting snow blocks and building walls around the tents. Mostly this was done for exercise and to get warm, since as yet this particular storm hasn't come with the wind which would necessitate walls. We are happy for that and are somewhat resigned to another day or two of this same system. Best, RMI Guide Dave Hahn

On The Map

Namaste!

We woke to a little new snow on the ground today, but thankfully it was clear and sunny for our final hike to Lukla. There were endless loads headed for basecamp as always, because much of the needed supplies arrive via plane or from a few days away by mules and the only transport options are porters or pack animals. 

It was our third consecutive day of eight hours on the trail to cover the nearly 40 miles that took us nine days to ascend on the way in. The team is more than happy to finally be here! 

Also to note. The current FKT (fastest known time) to hike from Everest Base Camp to Lukla is currently held by one of RMI’s amazing guides, Jess Wedel. Somehow she ran this rugged trail in just under 11 hours. Just so happens that she’s back here to climb Mount Everest and raise funds for the prevention, early detection research and awareness to combat Ovarian cancer. 

If you’re interested in following her climb of Mount Everest, you can find her here at 

instagram.com  or anymountainsong.com

With a little luck we hope to be back in Kathmandu tomorrow morning!

Keep your fingers crossed for us. 
RMI Guide Casey Grom and crew